Obama needs to step up Latino courtship

For all of his efforts to run a color-blind campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has received a sharp reminder that he has a problem with voters of a different color than his: Latinos.

While Obama showed in Super Tuesday voting that his popularity is increasing among white voters across the country, he failed to connect with Latinos and chip away at the solid support New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has from this group of voters, which is the fastest-growing segment of the electorate.

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Of the seven Super Tuesday states in which Latinos make up about 10 percent or more of registered voters, Obama had solid wins in only two: Colorado and his home state of Illinois.

That’s not all.

Latinos showed up at the polls in large numbers and proved they are worth getting.

In the Latino-vote-rich states Clinton handily carried — Arizona, California, New Jersey and her home state of New York — Latinos were critical to her margins of victory.

California Latinos, for example, made up 29 percent of the popular vote, and they favored Clinton over Obama by 69 percent to 29 percent.

She won the state by double digits.

In the tightest race of the night, New Mexico, where 34 percent of voters were Latino, Clinton beat Obama among Hispanics by 20 percentage points.

Even in Illinois, which Obama won, Obama and Clinton split the Latino vote.

“The road to the White House comes through the Latino community,” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a Clinton national co-chairman, is fond of saying.

So it seems.

Obama needed to cut into Clinton’s support with Hispanics, not just because they are a significant part of the electorate but also to underscore his pitch that he is the best candidate to unify the country.

Obama did pay attention to Latino voters in the days before Super Tuesday, albeit belatedly.

The junior senator from Illinois tried to court Hispanics with the help of key members of the Kennedy family, which has been popular across generations of Latinos.

Obama also got the endorsement of La Opinion, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, and he battled with Clinton in a paid media war for the Hispanic vote in key states.

But Obama is still too unknown to Latinos. He has not been able to shake loose the loyalty that Latinos have to Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, after decades of working on their issues and maintaining political alliances.

“This is a community that is very appreciative if you show it to be your friend,” Menendez explained, noting the Clintons’ achievements, such as working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on legislation to reduce high school dropout rates among Hispanics and improving children’s health care.

While Kennedy credited Obama with working on last year’s failed immigration bill, Menendez applauded Clinton’s work with him on amendments that would increase the number of visas to help reunite families.